Car-door retainer



(Model.)

A. ROELOFS.

GAR DOOR RETAINER.

No. 329,340. Patented Oct. 27, 1885.

PEYERS, Phemuhogmphnr, washingwn. D C

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANTHONY ROELOFS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-DOOR RETAINER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 329,340, dated October 27, 1885.

Application tiled July 9, 1885. Serial No. 171,039.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, ANTHONY RoELors, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Car-Door Retainers, of which the following is a specification.

One feature of my invention is a simple form of retainer, whereby the accidental opening of the car-door or the ready opening ofthe same by unauthorized persons may be prevented, another feature being the combination, with said retainer, of a locking-bolt, whereby the movement of the retainer, so as to release the door, is rendered impossible Without previous retraction of the bolt.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a sectional perspective View showing part of the car-door and car side with my improved retainer; Fig. 2, a similar view showing the retainer combined with a locking-bolt; Figs. 3, 4, and 5, perspective views of the various parts of the retainer shown in Fig. l; Fig. 6, a sectional plan view, on a larger scale, of the device shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 7,a front View, on a reduced scale, showing the retainer combined with a seal; Fig. 8, a similar view showing the retainer and locking-bolt combined with a seal; Figs. 9 and l0, front views, partly in section, showing the locking-bolt and its tumblers, Fig. 9 showing the tumblers in position to lock the bolt in its forward position, and Fig. l0 showing the tumblers adjusted to retain the bolt in the retracted position.

Although my invention comprises means for locking the door in position, the main feature of my invention consists of a device intended not for locking but for retaining the door in its closed position and preventing accidental displacement of the door or ready opening of the same by unauthorized persons, the device being intended as a substitute for the usual cleat nailed against the oar side adjacent to the end of the door, the objection to these cleats being their insecurity and the rapid destruction of the planking or sheathing of the car by the continued nailing of the cleats thereupon.

My improved retainer consists of a screwstem, A, which, as shown, has a square head, a, although a head of other polygonal shape, or onewith notches or a slot or recess for the reception of a suitable operatingtool, may be (Model.)

used. This screw-stem is adapted to a nut, B, forming part of a frame, D, which is secured to the end of the car-door, and preferably projects somewhat beyond the end of the strip x of the door-frame, so that the latter will not be unduly weakened by being cut away for the reception of the nut. When the door has been closed and the stem has been screwed into the nut, the inner end of said stem, which, as will be seen in Figs. 5 and 6, is reduced in diameter as compared with the threaded portion, projects beyond the inner face of the door, and the head a of the stem bears against the outer face of the nut. This projecting end of the stem may be received into an opening or recess in the side of the car; but I prefer to provide for its reception a socket, F, carried by the planking or sheathing of the side of the car, this socket preferably forming part ofa plate, b, secured to the inner side ofsaid sheathing, as shown in Fig. 6. The car-door is thus retained in position until the stem A has been unscrewed so as to withdraw the projecting end of the same from the socket F, and by using a suitable wrench in screwing up the stem in the iirst instance the friction between the threads of the nut andv stem, and between the face of the nut and the head of the stem, is such that the unscrewing of the same without the use of a suitable implement may be rendered impracticable, so that the entering of the car by tramps or yard thieves for the purpose of pilfering is prevented. The withdrawal ofthe bolt from the nut is prevented by flaring the inner end of said bolt, so as to form a retaining-flange, f, thereon, as shown in Fig. 6.

rlhe device above described may be used alone, when it is simply desired to retain the door in the closed position, the device being much preferable to the usual cleat as regards security and durability, and being also available for retaining the door in the opened position, a supplementary socket being secured to the car-side for the reception of the end of the stem in the latter case. When it is desired to seal the stern, the wire may be passed through a lug, cl, on the frame D, and through openings d in the head of the stem, the ends of the Wire being secured by the lead seal e, as shown in Fig. 7. For locking the stem, however, I prefer to combine with the same a sliding IOO bolt, G, as shown in Figs. 2, 6, 9, and l0, this bolt being adapted to suitable guides on the frame D, so that when its front end bears against or engages with the head of the stem A the turning of the latter is prevented unless the bolt is rst retracted.

In using a seal with the bolt the wire may be passed through a lug, d, on said bolt, and through the openings d in the head a of the stem A, as shown in Fig. 8, the ends of the wire being secured by the seal, as before; but when a key-lock is desired I make the bolt G hollow and provide the same with a series of tumblers, g, which have bits i to engage with a stump, m, projecting from the frame D.

These tumblers consist preferably of simplev bars of metal separated by washer-plates h, and resting upon a transverse partition, n, in the bolt, an opening being formed in the un der side of the latter for the insertion of a suitable key, y, for operating the tumblers. When the bolt G is moved forward so as to engage with the head a of thev retaining-stem, thebits i of the tumblers engage with the front side of the stump m and prevent the retraction of the bolt, and when said bolt has been retracted by the key the bits engage with the rear side of the stump and lock the bolt in its retracted position, so as to prevent the acci-l dental forward movement ofthe bolt and the locking of the retainer thereby. The removal of the bolt G from its guides is prevented by a stud, p, the inner end of which is adapted to a threaded opening in the frame D, and is locked thereto in any suitable manner to preventit from being unscrewed.

Alock of this character' is extremely cheap and simple in construction, being composed ot' plain bars or plates of metal without springs, and requiring nocostly finishing or fitting, theworking parts being entirely within the bolt, and the key-hole being onl the under side of .the latter, so that the lock is notlikely to become clogged with snow, ice, or dirt.

In order to prevent ready access to the tumblers for thel purpose of picking the lock, I form the'key-hole in the under part of the bolt at a point more or less remote from that at which the tumblers are exposed to the action of the key, a longitudinal movement of the latter ybeing necessary after it has been inserted in the key-hole before it is in position to act on the tu mblers, the shank of the key traversing a slot, s, formed in the bottom of the bolt and communicating with the key-hole t. The opening in the socket F is larger than the inner end of the stem A both vertically and horizontally, so that the sagging of the car will not prevent the entrance of the stem into the socket; nor will extreme accuracy in the adjustment of the door be required.v

I claim as my inventionl. A car-door retainer in which are combined a nut secured to the door, a screw-stem adapted to said nut, and having a head bearing upon the face of the same when the stem is screwed in, and a car-side having an opening or recess for the reception of the inner projecting end of the stem, all substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the car-door having a nut, and a-screw-stem adapted to said nut, with a car-side having an opening or recess larger than the end of said stem to receive the same, and a bolt for locking the screw-stem, substantially as specified.

3. The combination of the car-door, and the screw-stem forming a retainer therefor, with the locking-bolt guided on the car-door, and carrying a series of tumblers adapted to engage with a fixed stump on the door, as specified. l t

4. The combination of the car-door, and the screw-stem forming a retainer therefor, with the locking-bolt guided on the door containing a series of tu mblers, and having a key-hole in the under side, as specified.

5. The combination of the car-door, and the screw-stem forming a retainer therefor, with the locking-bolt guided on the door, and containing a series of tumblers, said bolt having in the under side a vkey-hole, and a longitudinal slot communicating therewith, so as to permit longitudinal movement of the key after its insertion, as specified.

i In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANTHONY ROELOFS.

Witnesses:

JOHN E. PARKER, HARRY SMITH. 

